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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829721">The Haunted Basement</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/22_Ti/pseuds/22_Ti'>22_Ti</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secretnerd18/pseuds/Secretnerd18'>Secretnerd18</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bechloe Month - 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Pitch Perfect (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Basement, F/F, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Paranormal, Paranormal Investigators, ghost hunter, haunted, paranormal pregnancy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:15:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,537</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23829721</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/22_Ti/pseuds/22_Ti, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Secretnerd18/pseuds/Secretnerd18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>From year to year, as old Bellas move on to life after college, they hand the keys of the house to the next generation of captains. “Don’t go in the basement,” is always the warning. Everyone always thinks it’s a joke, until they don’t. The basement of the Bellas’ House is apparently quite haunted. AKA What’s in the Bella’s basement? Set during mid-PP1, but the Bellas’ house already exists. </p><p>A mini-fic based on the weekly prompts of Bechloe month. Co-written with Secretnerd18</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bechloe if you squint, Chloe Beale &amp; Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bechloe Month - 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Haunted Basement</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>From year to year, as old Bellas moved on to life after college, they hand the keys of the house to the next generation of captains. “Don’t go in the basement,” was always the warning. Everyone always thinks it’s a joke, until they don’t. The basement of the Bellas’ house is apparently quite haunted.</p><p>Aubrey and Chloe were walking home after class when they saw one of the new freshmen sitting on the front porch, looking quite rattled. Chloe sat next to her and put her arm around her shoulder while Aubrey went inside. “Denise? What’s wrong?” Despite trying to answer her senior captain, the freshman was rattled. “It’s okay. Breath deep.”</p><p>Aubrey stuck her head back out the door. “What’s up with the lights? Is the power out?” She toggled the porch light switch a few times. “Maybe the breaker is tripped again. I’ll just go down to the basement and fix it.”</p><p>Before Aubrey could close the door, Denise was on her feet and grabbing her wrist. “No, no, Aubrey. Please. Please don’t go down there.” The priam captain looked down at the hand holding her arm then back up at Denise. “It’s, it’s, not safe down there.”</p><p>“Don’t tell me you bought the ‘don’t go down to the basement, it’s haunted’ story.” Aubrey sneered down her nose at the quivering freshmen.</p><p>“Aubrey,” Chloe hissed. “We didn’t <em>tell </em>them the rumors.” Turning back to Denise, Chloe asked, “what happened?” Rolling her eyes, Aubrey pulled her arm free and stomped down to the basement to take a look at the breaker box. A few moments later, the porch light came on, indicating Aubrey had fixed the issue. Chloe led Denise into the house and sat her on one of the couches.</p><p>The other captain came up the stairs and saw the wide-eyed look of the scared freshman. Aubrey pulled the door closed a little harder than necessary. “The door’s closed, Denise. Nothing is coming upstairs.”</p><p>Denise explained that when the lights went out, she figured the fuse panel was in the basement, as it was with many older houses. She grabbed a flashlight from a kitchen drawer and headed down the basement stairs. “Once I got down there, a cold draft blew across the bottom of the stairs, which was spooky enough since there were no windows open. As I walked towards the panel, a loud thumping started coming from the corner. I was terrified. I forgot all about the tripped fuse, ran back upstairs, and out the front door and stayed there until you came home.”</p><p>Chloe comforted the freshman Bella as best she could until Denise calmed down. Once she felt comfortable the girl had calmed down, Chloe went upstairs to talk to Aubrey who was dusting the knick-knacks in her room, organized meticulously as her anal-retentive self insisted.</p><p>“Aubrey, we have to tell the girls about the basement. Denise truly heard something down there. Anyone who has ever lived here as a Bella knows the history behind the basement. It’s haunted. Why do you think the Bellas’ House keys are always passed down with a warning? ‘Don’t go in the basement.’”</p><p>“Do you seriously believe in that nonsense, Chloe? Spirits? In our basement?” Aubrey rolled her eyes.</p><p>“If nothing else, it’s a part of our history, Bella history. I call a Bella bonding activity tonight.”</p><p>“Whatever.”</p><hr/><p>Chloe went ahead and gathered all the girls for pizza, beer, and junk food in the living room, sliding next to Beca on the loveseat as she sat down. Starting the night on a light note, she had the girls play a few ice-breaker games as they had just moved in and were all still getting to know each other. After about two hours, she stood up and cleared her throat.</p><p>“Girls, listen. Aubrey and …”</p><p>“Leave me out of this, Chloe.” Obviously irritated, Aubrey’s voice was sharp. “You know my feelings.”</p><p>Chloe sighed as Beca leaned over and slipped her hand into Chloe’s for reassurance. “Okay, before I got rudely interrupted, I was about to say that we failed to give you all the traditional Bellas’ House warning about the basement when we gave you each a key to the house. According to Bellas’ history, the basement is haunted. The keys have always been passed down with the warning, ‘don’t go in the basement.’”</p><p>“Well, WHAT happened here?” CR asked, incredulously. “Imma gonna move back to the dorms. I am not into this ghost shit!”</p><p>“Well, we don’t fully know,” Chloe answered nervously. “But history indicates that a long time ago, around when the Bellas were founded, something terrible happened down there with one of the founding members. It’s said that it was too awful to talk about.” Chloe watched Ashley and Jessica scoot a little closer together, hands clinging together, glad that she had Beca next to her.</p><p>“I, for one, do NOT believe in this,” Aubrey broke in once again. “It’s all nonsense if you ask me. We,” she motioned to the space between herself and Chloe, “have lived here three years, and NOTHING has happened to us.”</p><p>“But, do you hang out in the basement?” Fat Amy challenged Aubrey.</p><p>“Well, no, but I am not scared to go down and fix the lights either,” Aubrey said dryly.</p><p>“Guys, this is absolutely true!” Denise broke in. “I was down there today to flip the breaker switch, and there was a thudding noise from a corner. And it was very cold.” Some of the younger Bellas started to look frightened at this point.</p><p>“Enough!” Aubrey yelled. “You are all safe here; nothing is haunted. Let’s chill out. With that, I’m headed to bed. Good night.” She abruptly stood up and deposited her trash in the kitchen before storming upstairs to her room.</p><p>Beca silently watched Aubrey leave, wondering what was up her ass as usual. Like Aubrey, she actually doubted this haunting was “a thing,” but she wasn’t about to open her mouth either. Honestly, Beca was quite into ghost stories and finding out if spirits are real and was giddy in her mind to check this out as soon as she could.</p><p>“Okay, girls,” Chloe said with a sigh. “I guess it’s time to break up this gathering. I’m going to bed. Night!” She stood up and walked away with her head down, upset with Aubrey for causing such a scene.</p><p>The remaining girls looked at each other. “Uhhh, anyone wanna to have a sleepover all together here in the living room?” Ashley asked slowly. One by one, a chorus of ‘hell yeah,’ ‘for sure,’ ‘yes definitely,’ and ‘sounds great’ rang out into the air, and everyone quickly hustled to gather their pillows and blankets. Beca was the only new Bella who opted to slip away and not join in the sleepover.</p><p>Walking upstairs, she quietly knocked on Chloe’s door. The door swung open, and Chloe startled at her guest. “Beca! What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Uh, well, I was just curious. Is there more to the story than you told us?” Chloe shook her head as Beca took a seat on her bed.</p><p>“No, that’s all I know. To be honest, Aubrey is right. Over the past three years, we haven’t heard much or had a problem. But I can say that since the other girls graduated and we were left in charge, the fuses keep blowing. I guess I need to call maintenance,” she said shrugging. “I mean…it can’t be ghosts, right?” She laughed nervously.</p><p>Beca offered a tight smile and a shrug. “Hopefully not!” She bounced off the bed and bent over to kiss her friend on the cheek. Turning on her heel, she began to head toward the room she shared with Fat Amy. “Night, Chloe! Sweet dreams!” She called over her shoulder.</p><hr/><p>The next day, Beca knew every Bella was typically out of the house from 10:00 a.m. through about 12:30 p.m., including herself. However, Beca decided to play hooky. Armed with a flashlight and swiss army knife in her pocket, she slipped down the basement door as soon as the last Bella was out of the house. She saw the light switch, but after clicking it a few times, Beca figured either no one bothered to change light bulbs down here, or they just didn’t work.</p><p>Switching her flashlight on, she descended the stairs and slowly walked into the open room of the basement, taking in the layout. There appeared to be the main room with two smaller rooms toward the back. On the side under the covered windows was a sink, and in the far corner was the gas boiler and water heater. Besides a few boxes covered in dust and cobwebs, the room was pretty sparse. Humming “Titanium,” she quickly walked around the main room, shining the light over every surface and ventured into the two back rooms. One of the walls in the back room looked a little strange, but Beca couldn’t figure out why. She vowed to come back to explore it more another time.</p><p>The whole time she was down there, Beca heard no noises and felt no blasts of cold air – nothing creepy at all. In fact, at one point, she almost thought she felt warm air surround her, but quickly shook that off. Bored of her findings and realizing the girls may start trickling back home soon, she wandered back upstairs to ponder over the potential ghost situation.</p><hr/><p>Despite reassurances from each other, several Bellas were still wary about living in the ‘house with the haunted basement.’ Beca gathered the most scared of the Bellas and held an unofficial mini-meeting. “Hey, nerds. I wanted to run an idea past you before I do anything. I’ve always been interested in the paranormal and all, and I thought maybe we could get an investigation team here and see if we can get honest answers about what’s going on in our basement.”</p><p>“Like <em>Ghost Hunters</em> on TV? Oh yeah, I’m going to be a star.” Fat Amy gave a fist pump.</p><p>“Something like that,” Beca chuckled.</p><p>After a little bit of discussion, the Bellas agreed to reach out to the experts for some help.</p><p>“Aubrey would never agree to it, though,” Denise exclaimed.</p><p>Beca rolled her eyes. “I’m leaving her out of this. I’ll talk to Chloe, but not Aubrey.”</p><p>Chloe was open to Beca reaching out to an investigation team. “But only if I go with you.”</p><p>The brunette grinned at the captain. “You just want to spend time with me.”</p><p>“Guilty.”</p><hr/><p>After doing her research, Beca finally found the company she wanted to talk to, <em>Barden Paranormal Society. </em>Their tagline was <em>Do you believe in life after life?</em> She made an appointment with a team member about their issue.</p><p>“We need your help. A ghost lives in our basement at Barden University.” Chloe positioned her chair next to Beca’s, trying to derive some comfort in the closeness. Something about Beca just made her feel so much better.</p><p>Fred kicked back in his chair, putting his feet up on the desk. “We tend to shy away from that word – ghost”</p><p>“Okay, spirit, whatever. And that’s funny because you call yourselves ghost hunters. Anyway, what draws you to this ‘hobby’?” Beca’s curious side wanted to hear more from Fred.</p><p>“It calls to me,” he said. “But sometimes a ‘calling’ isn’t that simple. On my first haunt, we lasted eighteen minutes before we freaked out. But I kept going back,” he recalled laughing. “So, tell me about your spirits.”</p><p>Beca was lackadaisically listening in while Chloe explained. “Rumor has it that the ghost, errr spirit, is one of the founding Bellas. The Bellas – that’s our a capella group.”</p><p>Fred chuckled, “there’s never just one.” He explained that entities occupying any space are never alone, but in packs with a hierarchy. Beca sat up at this bit of knowledge. “The spirit world is far more structured than humans would expect,” Fred explained. “There’s always a boss, and the pack works together and knows each other. Teams. They work on certain tasks better that way.”</p><p>He went on to explain the tasks could range from ordinary mischief to something more malicious. “I’ve even recorded spirits chatting back and forth before about whether or not to attack my equipment.”</p><p>At this tidbit of news, Chloe became concerned. “Malicious? That means bad, right? Do you think our spirits are evil? Like poltergeists?”</p><p>Fred chuckled. “Naw. I’m sure if they had bad intentions, someone would come to us before now – that or abandoned the house altogether. Can you tell me about some recent experiences people have had?” When Chloe told him about Denise’s latest bout, he leaned forward. “Sounds like they are mischievous.”</p><p>“You mean, our ghost is bored?” Beca was listening intently.</p><p>“Who knows. Spirits can always see us but choose whether or not they want their presence to be known. Going even further, if the spirit decides to, they can present themselves in certain ways, almost like holograms, to scare someone away.”</p><p>“Can they make physical noises?” Beca asked.</p><p>“Oh yes,” Fred says. “They can make themselves heard vocally and even with proverbial ‘things that go bump in the night’ noises.</p><p>Chloe shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “We need to find out who is in our basement and figure out what they want? The traditional ’haunted basement’ has been a not-so-fun tradition for far too many generations of Bellas.”</p><p>“Are you sure they are bound to the basement?” The more she and Beca visited with Fred, the more concerned Chloe got.</p><p>Surprisingly, Fred responded that spirits aren’t always limited to one specific place. One particular entity took a liking to him and followed him around for a few years. “Joan,” he said. “She was everywhere I was. Maybe your entity is more comfortable living in the basement, enjoys the tradition, or the basement could have even been the scene of a traumatic event.”</p><p>Chloe, Beca, and Fred scheduled for a full paranormal investigation in two weeks. The ghost hunters would come in early Friday evening to set up and run their analysis all weekend.</p><hr/><p>The car was quiet as Beca and Chloe drove back to the Bella house. When they walked in, Aubrey was sitting in the living room alone, her legs primly crossed and hands folded in her lap. She seemed bothered.</p><p>“Aubrey?” Chloe sat next to the blonde co-captain. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I called maintenance about the fuses that keep blowing in the basement panel.” Aubrey stopped and wouldn’t explain further.</p><p>“Ooooookay. Words, Aubrey, use your words,” Chloe encouraged. Beca silently watched the captains from the kitchen.</p><p>“He made it halfway down the stairs before stopping to back up. Then, he refused to go back down, saying he got an uneasy feeling. I tried to tell him it was in his head, but he wouldn’t go back in the basement. He said that once he got down the stairs, a heavy feeling settled on his chest like he was being smothered. Nothing I could do convinced him to fix our electrical problem.”</p><p>“Wow,” Chloe explained. She glanced over at Beca, who shrugged.</p><p>“He’s going to send a different electrician tomorrow.” No sooner did Aubrey get that statement out of her mouth did the lights go out again. “Damn it!” Aubrey was pissed and stomped to the kitchen to get a flashlight. “Oh, for fuck's sake, where are all the flashlights?” The dim light coming from the windows showed the captain digging in the drawers. “Why can’t people put things back where they got them.” She opened another drawer and found a thick candle. After lighting it, she headed downstairs to get the lights back on.</p><p>Chloe walked over to Beca, who was standing against the sink, arms crossed, chuckling. “We should name our spirit. Make this more fun,” Beca chuckled.</p><p>Both girls jumped as a piercing scream came from the basement. The lights came back on shortly after that as they heard Aubrey running up the stairs. She burst through the door with a wild look on her face. When she saw Beca and Chloe watching her, she quickly schooled her face as she shut the door.</p><p>“You okay?” Chloe asked. “I heard you scream.”</p><p>“There must be a window open down there. I was a few steps away from the panel when my candle blew out.”</p><p>Beca didn’t bother to correct her since she had earlier discovered the windows were all nailed shut.</p><hr/><p>Chloe and Beca got the Bellas together and explained the weekend guests that would be in the basement. “We invited the <em>Barden Paranormal Society</em> to see if we can get to the bottom of our basement issue.” Chloe then let Beca give the other girls a brief overview of what they had learned when they had their initial visit with Fred. “They’ve done enough work and research to quickly know, even without the use of their tools, if a place is haunted.</p><p>The weekend arrived, and the team started setting up. Beca and Lilly were the only Bellas who joined them in the basement. “I once had sex with a ghost,” Lilly mumbled as she stood with Beca, watching the team set up. Beca gave her the side-eye but said nothing.</p><p>“What did she say?” Fred asked.</p><p>“Nothing. It’s not important,” Beca replied.</p><p>“The ghost got me pregnant. I have a ghost in my body.” Lilly continued. Beca stared at her a little more and shuffled away a few steps.</p><p>Fred shook his head and explained the purpose of the EMF meters he was placing around the basement. “These are electromagnetic field or EMF meters used by electricians. We can monitor the strengths and shifts of magnetic fields. Higher readings normally indicate presences.” He jumped back when Lilly waved her hand over one of the EMF meters, and the device’s needle responded by swinging far right. Lilly muttered something under her breath before wandering off.</p><p>Another investigator, Velma, was looking for optimal places for her devices. “Has anyone ever heard anything down here? Whispers, voices?” Beca shook her head and told her just thumps and bumps. “These are audio recording devices that try to capture electronic voice phenomenon — or EVP. We analyze recordings and try to single out the sound of any activity that may be happening in a room. Different noises mean different things, kind of like training your ear.”</p><p>“Can’t I just use my cell phone?” Beca waved hers in the air.</p><p> “You <em>could,</em> but ours is high-quality recording equipment and helps us filter out background noise and isolate specific sounds.” Beca explained her career aspirations and announced how EVPs would be right up her alley.</p><p>“I can hear bat wings with my bare ears,” Lilly whispered. Velma shied away from the stealth Bella and began working on the last piece of equipment.</p><p>Beca ran her finger over a video display unit. “What’s this?” She inquired to nobody in particular.</p><p>“This,” Fred said as he stood up and worked with more wires, “is our newest piece of equipment, the Kinect Deluxe camera. This baby is taking our ghost hunting to a new level. It works in all ranges of light, including absolute darkness. While some spirits want to be seen, this equipment detects forms that can’t be seen with the naked eye.”</p><p>Their new camera worked by showing everything captured in three-dimensional dots to show depth and detail. The processing software “saw” joints and movements, which allowed the program to recognize human shapes based on those body parts and joints. The images were transferred to video format then recorded on a memory card.</p><hr/><p>Once night fell, the investigators asked the Bellas to stay upstairs and go about their normal evening. Fred explained that this would allow them to establish a baseline of activity. “I have <em>no problem</em> with this,” Denise said.</p><p>Lilly muttered something. “What?” Chloe asked.</p><p>“I think she said something like <em>I’m learning how to be a ghost mommy</em>,” Beca whispered.</p><p>The Bellas nervously went about their normal routine. Even Aubrey seemed to be shaken, knowing what was possibly happening in their basement. Surprisingly, they were all in bed early, with many of the Bellas having another slumber party in Jessica and Ashley’s room.</p><p>The next morning, Chloe woke up early and went to start coffee and breakfast. She wanted to not only feed the girls who were brave enough to stay but also their human guests in the basement. When she went down to the kitchen, Chloe found Aubrey already there, sitting at the table. The blonde was haggard-looking as she drank her coffee. “Bree? Are you okay?”</p><p>“I’ve been up most the night, so I’m not sure if I’m okay or not.”</p><p>Chloe poured herself a coffee and started another pot. “You’ve had almost a whole pot of coffee. Why didn’t you go to bed?”</p><p>“I did. But something woke me up. My room got super cold; I felt chilled to my bones. I tried to snuggle down into the blankets, but no go. Then I let this haunted basement business get inside my head. I imagined hands running through my hair. So yeah – I went to bed, but I couldn’t stay there.”</p><p>Chloe put her arm around Aubrey. “I’m sorry you experienced that. Hopefully, after the weekend, we’ll have some answers.”</p><p>“The. Basement. Is. Not. Haunted.” Aubrey gritted her teeth as she spoke.</p><p>The redhead captain decided not to try to reason with her friend and got up to make breakfast.</p><hr/><p>Downstairs, the investigators had shut down their equipment for the night and were doing some preliminary analysis. “What time did you say those images came across?” Fred had pulled his headphones off his ears.</p><p>Velma checked her log. “2.18.1.”</p><p>Fred dialed the recording back and listened a few times. Once he had the exact spot identified, He motioned for Velma and the other investigator to put on their headphones. “This is 2.20.3 – 2.21.9.” He played the clip several times. He then filled with some knobs and slowed down the recording to help decode the words.</p><p>“Wow,” Daphne said, “there’s two of them.”</p><p>They heard one spirit whisper, “does she see anyone? Does she see anyone?”</p><p>The other answered. “I don’t know. Just go.”</p><p>The team pulled off their headphones. Velma said, “okay guys, after hearing that, you gotta see this.” She played back the first video captured. Two ‘bodies’ were seen leaning towards Daphne who was standing by the camera. After the time on the recording, the shapes turn and move towards the back wall of the basement. One stood next to the wall while the other seemed to disappear through the wall. Neither entity was detected again that night.</p><p>Fred looked at his team. “I guess this answers our question about if the basement has spirits. Let’s take a break and go upstairs. Maybe we can grab a bite to eat and a quick nap before we go through any more data.”</p><hr/><p>By the time the Bellas and investigators had finished breakfast, Aubrey had calmed down. She didn’t say anything to anyone other than Chloe about her experience the night before. Finally, Beca couldn’t stand it anymore and asked the investigators what they found out.</p><p>The sleuths looked at each other before Fred explained they hadn’t yet gone through everything but that something was definitely occupying space in the basement. Denise and CR looked at each other and quickly left the dining room without even clearing their plates.</p><p>When only the captains and Beca were left at the table, Velma cleared her throat. “Umm I have to ask. Would the girls let us know if anything happened to them last night?” The three remaining Bellas looked at each other.</p><p>“Definitely,” Beca replied. “Most of them are pretty spooked now.”</p><p>“What?” Aubrey glared at Chloe as the redhead bumped her with her shoulder. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, errrr, something happened in my bedroom last night.” Beca’s eyes widened as she listened to what Aubrey had told Chloe earlier.</p><p>“Did you notice the time?” Daphne asked.</p><p>Shrugging, Aubrey replied, “I don’t know. 2:00 – 2:30?”</p><p>The three investigators look at each other before rushing back down to the basement, forgetting all about their planned naps. Fred began to work on the other recordings while Velma started to go through the additional video. Daphne made a beeline towards the area of the basement wall where the one spirit disappeared from the earlier video. She searched and ran her hands all over the wall.</p><p>“What are you looking for?” Startled, Daphne spun around to find Beca standing there. “Sorry. I wanted to see if I could help.”</p><p>“Only if you know the significance of this wall.” She motioned to where he’d been feeling.</p><p>“Ummm none of us have spent any time down here. Only when the circuits to the lights get tripped.” She moved closer and put her face right up against the wall and examined it carefully. “Hmm. Do you have a screwdriver or something?”</p><p>“Careful with this.” Daphne handed her a thin chisel. “Your friends down here might not kindly respond if they feel you are damaging their ‘home’.”</p><p>Beca found what she’d been looking for and easily slid the chisel into a gap. With slight pressure, a panel popped open. “Woah. This is a new discovery.” She pulled a flashlight from her back pocket and shined it through the opening. “It looks like a tunnel.” When her phone started sounding off, Beca pulled it out to see a message from Chloe. “We have a Bellas’ practice, and I need to leave. But I’ll be back.”</p><hr/><p>The girls shuffled into the auditorium, most happy to be out of the house for a while. After the physical exercises and vocal warm-ups, Aubrey had them line up to continue practicing the same old lame songs she kept harping insisting they use for competition. After about twenty minutes and two passes through <em>I Saw the Sign</em>, <em>Eternal Flame</em>, and <em>Turn the Beat Around</em>, the piano top slammed down, startling everyone in the room.</p><p>“It’s them! The ghosts! They followed us here!” Denise cried, grabbing onto CR.</p><p>“Oh, HELL no.” CR cried. “This team better fix this shit, or I am quitting. Being in a capella is not worth being haunted.”</p><p>“Girls. Girls. ENOUGH.” Aubrey cried out. “There is no ghost here. The piano is old, and I am sure the top hinges are getting faulty. Calm down. Okay, now from the top of <em>Eternal Flame.</em>”</p><p>Despite her trying to brush it off, the girls were rattled, and Aubrey sighed, knowing she lost control. Waving a hand, she dismissed the girls and packed her stuff up, casting a worried glance at the piano. What was going on? As she cleaned up the rehearsal room, Aubrey went to flip off the light before she left. When she heard some whispers, she stopped and turned back towards the darkened room. Then she heard a disembodied voice shout, “NO!” Aubrey fled the rehearsal room as quickly as she should.</p><hr/><p>When Beca and the Bellas returned from rehearsal, they learned that the team had gone back to their office for a few supplies and to grab dinner. Daphne had left Beca a note saying she explored the tunnel, but it seemed like a dead end. There was no way to get out on the other end right now. Beca wondered if the tunnel had been sealed up at some point.</p><p>While the other girls took their turns showering, Beca slipped back into the basement and immediately went to the hidden tunnel. Flipping the wall open, she shined her flashlight ahead of her and cautiously stepped inside. The little hallway turned right for a few feet and then led to a staircase.</p><p>Going up the staircase, she discovered what Daphne was talking about and came face to face to a solid wall with no hidden track marks. “I bet this WAS sealed up. Maybe after whatever happened here.” Putting an ear to the wall, she heard some shuffled movements but nothing to tell her exactly where in the house was on the other side of the wall. Slapping her hands against the wall, she started banging to see who, if anyone, would answer.</p><p>Not even a split second later, Beca heard a high, shrill shriek. One that could ONLY belong to Aubrey. Beca started cracking up. Of COURSE this tunnel would lead to a captain’s room. Since her flashlight was beginning to fade, she turned around to go back through the tunnel and out of the basement to take her own shower.</p><p>Halfway down the stairs, she noticed a lump to the side, blending in with the wall. Reaching down, she felt it was a book. Her light was about out, flickering as she shook it to draw some additional power from the battery. Once she picked it up, she realized it was some sort of diary but couldn’t make out anything more. Slipping it under her shirt, she intended to read it herself before turning it over to the investigation team, who would be back any minute.</p><p>Passing by Aubrey’s room on her way to the bathroom, she saw the captain sitting on the bed with her eyes wide open and hairbrush in hand. “Dude, what are you doing?” She asked the blonde girl.</p><p>Aubrey slowly turned toward Beca. “Nothing. Uh, just, brushing my hair.”</p><p>“You seem a little freaked out. You sure you are okay?”</p><p>“Yes. Yes. Just fine.” Aubrey quickly shut her door after that as Beca continued walking to the bathroom, chuckling to herself.</p><p>After her shower, Beca was once again walking past Aubrey’s room. The door was ajar, and she heard Aubrey speaking in hushed tones. “I’m telling you, Chloe. The ghost banged on my wall and then laughed at me. LAUGHED. What the hell?” Hurrying past, Beca rushed to get back to her room before she lost it, sniggering. If only Aubrey knew.</p><hr/><p>Back in the room she shared with Fat Amy, Beca curled up in bed with the diary she found. The book was old, but not THAT old as she first figured. The first page was dated 1975, which was apparently when both the Bellas were founded, and their house was built. The first page read, ‘<em>A Bellas History, by Abigail Hawk.</em>’ The next page went on for Abigail to tell all about how she and her friend, Whitney, decided to found a new a capella team at Barden and managed to get them a house. She talked about how she built up the team with beautiful ‘beach ready’ girls and expected them to be top-notch perfect for all of the competition.</p><p>“Haha! Sounds a lot like a certain captain I know,” Beca chuckled to herself. She went on to read a bit more before she heard Amy entering the room. After slipping the diary under her mattress, she chatted a few minutes with Amy before pulling her headphones on and starting a new mix.</p><hr/><p>Before the girls turned in for the night, the investigative team returned. While Daphne was setting up new equipment, Fred and Velma spoke with the girls.</p><p>“Has anyone had any other abnormal activity since we saw you all this morning?”</p><p>“Our piano slammed shut at rehearsal!” Denise screamed out.</p><p>“Yeah…um…after I showered from rehearsal, I was in my room, and there was banging on my wall. A wall that I know doesn’t border up to anyone – it’s right next to my closet.” Aubrey admitted quietly. She didn’t mention what she’d heard after rehearsal.</p><p>“Okay, screw this, I’m going to sleep at my friend’s apartment until this shit is over.” CR said, walking out of the room with Denise quickly following her.</p><p>“One of them spent the afternoon in my room with me reading paranormal maternity books,” Lilly mumbled. Ashley heard that and quickly moved to the other side of Jessica.</p><p>“Okay. Daphne should have our new equipment set up for the night. Just go about your business, and we will reconvene in the morning.”</p><p>The girls all broke away except for Beca. “Uh, Fred.” He looked up. “The banging in Aubrey’s room was me. I went into the tunnel, and when I got to the wall, I banged on it. Aubrey screamed. So, the tunnel definitely ends at her room, but there is no panel to exit. I have a feeling it was sealed up a while ago.”</p><p>“Could be. Thanks, Beca. We need to figure out who these spirits are focused on and why and see if they need closure on something to leave. Don’t worry; we’ll get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, we are trying to research Barden's history and old news articles to see if we can find something that may have happened here.”</p><p>On a hunch, Beca said, “try looking back in 1975 or 1976.” When she got strange looks from Fred and Velma, she quickly added, “that’s when this house was built, and the Bellas were founded. Considering the warning about the basement has followed ‘generations of Bellas,’ maybe that is a good place to start?”</p><p>“Uh, thanks Beca. We’ll take that into consideration. Why don’t you go about your night now and we’ll see you in the morning?” Nodding, Beca walked away, eager to get back to the diary in her room.</p><hr/><p>Beca went directly to her room so she could read more of the diary. The book was musty from years in the damp basement. Beca, herself, let out a scream when a body landed on her bed. “Boo!” Chloe was giggling. “For someone who is interested in the supernatural, you sure are jumpy.” She laid on top of Beca, kissing her neck and chin.</p><p>“Dude! What’s going on here?” Beca exclaimed, moving her hand around where Chloe was lying on top of her and kissing her.</p><p>“Nothing!” Chloe chirped, blushing slightly. “You’re just cute.” Spotting the book, she grabbed the diary from Beca. “What’s this?”</p><p> “Whoa, careful there.” Beca turned over and reached for the book that Chloe was flipping through.</p><p>“Abigail Hawk? Why does her name sound familiar?” Chloe murmured as she continued to flip through pages. “Oh my god, she was one of the founding Bellas.”</p><p>Beca turned over to face Chloe. “Not just a founder, a captain.”</p><p>“What else does it say?” Chloe ducked her head to her chin as she flashed a flirty smile at the freshman.</p><p>Beca snatched the diary from the redhead. “I don’t know. I haven’t read that far. Now let me read. Come get me for dinner.” She rolled over and started to read again.</p><hr/><p>Chloe skipped down the stairs with Beca following close behind. Aubrey, Lilly, and Fat Amy were the only other Bellas other than Chloe and Beca left in the house. The others had left to stay with friends while the paranormal investigation was happening. “Aubrey? You cooked?” Beca filled her plate and sat at the table.</p><p>“Kept my hands busy, and my mind occupied.” Aubrey shrugged as she started eating. Beca leaned over and whispered into Chloe’s ear who gasped.</p><p>“Okay, you two twig bitches. Spill.” Fat Amy dug in for a second helping, or was it a third? Chloe nodded at Beca, giving her permission to share about what she’d been reading.</p><p>Beca trotted upstairs and came back down with the old diary in her hand. “I found this and have been reading through. Quick summary, it’s about Abigail Hawk and her friend Whitney, the two girls who founded the Bellas. There was another one mentioned, Suzette. Seemingly, Abigail was a total bitch and was not open to suggestions from her co-founder and teammates.” Beca cut her eyes towards Aubrey but didn’t go any further into what she’d read.</p><p>“I’m beginning to reconsider my decision to stay,” Fat Amy exclaimed.</p><p>“Anyway, our situation is starting to make a lot more sense. The ghosts may be seeking some sort of revenge. Anyway, thanks for dinner, Aubrey. I need to go check in with the investigation team downstairs.”</p><hr/><p>As the investigators adjusted their set up, Beca told them what she’d learned from the journal. “Abigail was getting push back over her song choices from her co-founder and another teammate and shoved them both down the stairs to the basement tunnel that led from her room. I’m surprised she admitted to the murders, even if only in a diary. That’s no doubt why the wall was sealed up! On the other hand, I think we are getting closer to discovering who is down here. Now if we can just figure out what they want.”</p><p>Fred motioned Beca over and had her put on a headset. “We isolated a few more sounds from last night.”</p><p>After listening, Beca pulled the headphones down around her neck. “Bella, Bella, Bella. Were those voices chanting ‘Bella’?”</p><p>Rose walked over. “I think they want one of you down here tonight. You game?”</p><p>“Hell yeah!” Beca jumped at the chance to see the investigation process first-hand.</p><hr/><p>A few hours had passed when all the devices began to go haywire. The EMF meters were swinging left and right, and images were flashing all around the Kinect monitors.  Velma was doing her best to isolate the images but couldn’t until the spirits stopped flashing around. Daphne was spinning knobs and manipulating sounds coming over the EVP machines. As soon as the devices had started reacting, they abruptly stopped. The three investigators and Beca looked wild-eyed at each other. The trio quickly shook off their shock and started analyzing their equipment.</p><p>Eventually, Daphne hooked up the EVP machine to her speakers and played back a few recordings. “I don’t think you are the Bella they were asking to join us.”</p><p>The whispered voices clearly were chanting, “no, no, no.” Finally, one voice came through a bit louder. “Bee Bee Bee.” </p><p>After reviewing the video captured around the same time, they saw the spirits – Whitney and Suzette presumably – at the back of the basement. They took turns trying to pass through the tunnel wall, being unable to get through.</p><p>“I think our opening the tunnel wall is preventing them from passing.” Beca motioned for Daphne to play the recording again. “Bee? They want Aubrey!” The brunette raced up the basement stairs and dragged Aubrey back to the basement.</p><p>“Beca! What’s going on, I don’t want a part of this!” Because of the earlier events, Aubrey had succumbed to her fears.</p><p>“The spirits want you. Something about you is bothering them. Come on, we need to figure this out so they are at peace and leave us alone.” Beca replied.</p><p>Aubrey sighed. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”</p><p>The girls joined up with the investigators. The team told them more sounds had been recorded and played it for the girls. “No old songs. No old songs.”</p><p>Beca smirked as Aubrey paled, probably putting two and two together. The girls then walked upstairs to join the other Bellas.</p><p>“What happened, Aubrey?” Amy asked, noticing her grim expression.</p><p>“Uh…I just need to go think about some things,” Aubrey mumbled as she headed toward her room. Chloe, Lilly, and Amy exchanged glances, but Beca stayed silent. This wasn’t her business.</p><p>“I think the ghost baby is ready to leave my body,” Lilly stated. Beca widened her eyes, grabbed Chloe’s hand, and pulled her away.</p><hr/><p>Aubrey thought long and hard about what the ghosts were somewhat insinuating and finally went to Beca for help, much to her chagrin. Two weeks later, the Bellas had a whole new fun setlist and a new look. The Bellas completely changed their flight attendant costumes to make them more trendy and comfortable.</p><p>The night of the competition, they joyfully ran out to the stage to take their marks. Beca blew on the pitch pipe before whispering one, two, three, four…</p><p>Aubrey began to sing.</p><p>
  <em>Seems like everybody’s got a price<br/>I wonder how they sleep at night<br/>When the sale comes first and the truth comes second<br/>Just stop for a minute and smile</em>
</p><p>The other Bellas started vocalizing.</p><p>
  <em>Everybody look to the left<br/>Everybody look to the right<br/>Can you feel that, yeah<br/>We're paying with love tonight<br/>(It ain't ever about the money)</em>
</p><p>The routine continued as the Bellas sang and danced.</p><p>
  <em>I will love, love you tonight<br/>Give me everything tonight<br/>For all we know<br/>We might not get tomorrow<br/>Let's do it tonight</em>
</p><p>Once the routine was over, the crowd was on their feet cheering as the girls celebrated.</p><hr/><p>At home, the Bellas took turns passing the nationals trophy around the room as Aubrey filled them in on the last night of the paranormal investigation. Beca had already shared the rest of the diary’s contents and what had happened before she dragged Aubrey downstairs.</p><p>“So, Whitney and Suzette wanted <em>you </em>in the basement?” Denise was cautious as though if her questions would anger the spirits.</p><p>Aubrey explained that somehow she’d gotten a clear message that their routine sucked. She needed to make changes before the competition <em>and</em> be more kind to the other Bellas.</p><p>“I have to say that I don’t miss Dictator Aubrey.” Fat Amy high fived Stacie.</p><p>“Now what happens in the basement?” Cynthia Rose was not yet convinced she was ready to move back to the Bella house.</p><p>“Fred said that if we understood the correct message, the spirits should calm down. He thinks Aubrey reminded them too much of Abigail plus, well, they hated our set.” Beca chuckled. “I suggest our next Bella Bonding night be cleaning up that damned basement. Maybe Whitney and Suzette won’t mind.”</p><p>“Ahhhhhh hell no,” Denise, Jessica, Ashely, and CR said at the same time.</p><p>“That place can stay dusty and dirty for all I care.” CR exclaimed. The girls laughed.</p><p>“Okay,” Beca said. “Maybe we should at least replace the lightbulbs so that it’s not so bad if we need to go down to the breaker box. Everyone agreed, and Aubrey even volunteered for that task.</p><p>“Maybe Beca is right, though. Once things calm down, I think we should go clean up the basement so we can at least use it for storage.” Beca looked at Aubrey in shock.</p><p>“Wow. Um, thanks for the backup,” she said slowly to the blond girl. Aubrey just shrugged in return with a small smile on her face. Chloe beamed at Beca and pulled her close while Beca blushed at the movement.</p><hr/><p>A month went by with no further blown fuses or strange noises, well, except for Lilly. The girls began to feel comfortable in the Bella house and began to relax. After a second month, the girls did end up going down into the (newly lit) basement and sweeping up the dust and dirt, uncovering the windows, and making it more user friendly. Everything was finally at peace.</p><hr/><p>
  <strong>Epilogue</strong>
</p><p>Three more years flew by, and all those freshmen Bellas that lived through the haunting were graduating. Even Chloe, who stayed three extra years for “the Bellas” (aka making moves on her now girlfriend Beca) were walking across the stage this year. The only one staying behind to build the team was Emily, their Legacy. Because they had not officially initiated Emily into the a capella group, the last night in the house for the graduating Bellas, they had a miniature hood party, and all slid down the stairs.</p><p>As the older Bellas all stood by the door about to leave. Chloe held her closed hand out to Emily. “Here, these are for you and your future Bella sisters. Just one thing. ‘Don’t go in the basement.’” She dropped the keys into Legacy’s hand.</p><p>All the others starting rolling with laughter. Beca put her arm around the now scared legacy child. “Naw, that’s okay. But there are few things to remember – choose your setlist carefully and make sure the songs are all from this decade.”</p><p>Chloe moved to hug Beca from behind and planted a kiss on her cheek. “Listen to Beca, Legacy. She knows what she is talking about. Our little hero.” One by one, the girls wished Emily luck and exited the house until she was standing alone, slightly overwhelmed but excited to begin anew.</p><p>She walked upstairs to Chloe’s old bedroom, one of the captain's rooms, to unpack a few things. Upon entering, she saw an old diary sitting on her bed. Picking it up, she read, “A Bellas’ History.”</p><p>“Huh. What’s this?” As she picked it up, a note fluttered out.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Emily,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don’t get freaked about what you will read here. It’s all true, but we solved the mystery of the basement ghosts three years ago. I added my own entries in the back, so the record is complete. You must know this history and keep passing it down through the generations. Afterlife is real, and Whitney and Suzette are at peace, but let’s keep it that way. If you ever need help, the business card for the Barden Paranormal Society is taped in the back. Tell Fred that Beca says ‘hey’ should you need to call. Good luck – we know you are going to rock this. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>With Love,<br/>Beca</em>
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